For the last two scrimmages at the team's training camp, Weinhandl has had Aleksei Yashin, the Islanders' best player, as his center. Weinhandl has so much offensive instinct that, as Coach Peter Laviolette said, ''You'd like to see more of it.''

But Weinhandl has done well enough that Yashin, when told Weinhandl was 90 percent blind in his left eye, replied that he did not know that.

It has not become apparent to either Laviolette or Milbury that Weinhandl is playing with a disability that is similar to the one sustained by Bruins defenseman Bryan Berard.

''He's a skill guy, and it seems like he has a good shot, and he makes the right decisions,'' Yashin said of Weinhandl. ''At the same time, he's just getting the feeling of the National Hockey League. He still has to adjust and make himself into a good player.''

He has already made one major adjustment. Five months after the Islanders took Weinhandl in the third round of the 1999 entry draft, his career was in jeopardy.

On Nov. 12, 1999, while representing Sweden in the Four Nations tournament, Weinhandl was speared in the eye by Michal Travnicek of the Czech Republic. Travnicek was suspended from international play for one year.

Weinhandl was back in two months and underwent eye surgery at the end of the season. He played 48 games the next season for MoDo of the Swedish Elite League, producing 16 goals and 16 assists. Weinhandl had 18 goals and 16 assists for MoDo last season.

Milbury thought Weinhandl was worth a longer look. Milbury figured that he had seen Weinhandl play a half-dozen times in the world championships, which came before Weinhandl signed a multiyear deal on July 3.

It became apparent to Milbury that Weinhandl, who at 6 feet and 183 pounds is roughly the same size as Michael Peca, was capable of making plays.

''Even though he's slightly built, it's not easy to strip the puck from him,'' Milbury said.

Weinhandl, who wears a face shield, was impressive in the first two days of training camp, which were filled with stickhandling, passing and shooting drills. After practice Saturday, Laviolette said: ''I noticed Weinhandl again. The puck seems to stick with him at times.''

Then, minutes into the first intrasquad scrimmage on Sunday, Weinhandl stickhandled through a hole in the defense, bore down and fired a shot that Garth Snow stopped.

Weinhandl then circled the goal, swept back into the slot and began tapping his stick on the ice.

''Weinhandl was slippery again today,'' said Laviolette, who then promised to try Weinhandl with Yashin, who had a team-leading 32 goals last season.

In a scrimmage Monday, Weinhandl set up a goal by Yashin. Yashin played today between Weinhandl and Shawn Bates, who is probably the team's fastest skater. Bates said of Weinhandl, ''You get a sense that there's a lot of skill out there.''

Weinhandl said he still had a lot to learn. The tempo of the N.H.L., he said, seems to be faster than the game in Europe. This is his first season outside Sweden, and, even though he speaks fluent English, there is still a cultural bridge to cross.

But his eye injury, he said, has never been a problem -- not even immediately after he returned. ''I just didn't think about it too much,'' Weinhandl said.

There is a training camp for Weinhandl to finish, then five preseason games. With plenty of time between now and the season opener Oct. 10 at Buffalo, Weinhandl could still drop off the roster. As of now, Milbury's 1999 draft class stand out.

Selected in the eighth round was Radek Martinek, who is now one of the Islanders' top four defensemen. Milbury sees nothing that suggests that Weinhandl cannot be just as successful.